Baseball falls in doubleheader at Reinhardt

WALESKA, Ga. (April 28, 2013) – Milligan baseball dropped a doubleheader at Reinhardt on Thursday afternoon. The opening game ended in a 12-4 victory, while the second matchup of the day ended 9-2 after a sixth inning burst by the Eagles.

The Buffs fall to 29-17 on the season and 12-16 in Appalachain Athletic Conference (AAC) league play. Reinhardt moves into sole possession of second place in the conference standings at 30-16, 20-8 AAC.

Game 1 – Reinhardt 12, Milligan 4

Creed Werker was given the start to open up the doubleheader. After giving up a triple to right field to start the bottom of the first, the next batter faced hit a sacrifice RBI to give the Eagles an early 1-0 advantage.

The Buffs responded in the second with a pair of knocks. A single by Anthony Guzman and a double to center field by Angel Lobo saw a pair of runners in scoring position. Next up was Jack Sutton, who hit a sacrifice fly to left field to even the score at 1-1.

Reinhardt was able to put a runner in scoring position with no outs in the bottom of the second, however, Werker was able to leave the runner stranded as he picked up a pair of strikeouts and a groundout to second to end the inning.

The bottom of the third was all Reinhardt to start off. Two straight runners reached base by way of singles to right field, while a third reached base after being hit by a pitch. The lead was retaken after a sacrifice fly to left field made it 2-1.

Milligan opened up the fourth inning with a single to center field from Guzman. After loading the with a walk, the Buffs took their first lead as they scored three runs to go up 4-2. The first pair were scored by way of a two-RBI double by Andrew Mathias, while the third was scored on an RBI from Logan Hullette.

The Eagles evened the score once again at 4-4, as they utilized a solo home run and an RBI single to right field.

The top half off the fifth saw nothing going for the Buffs. Chance Hall replaced Werker on the mound in the bottom half. He then struck out all three batters faced to end the inning.

With a pair of outs already recorded in the bottom half of the sixth, the Eagles utilized a three run home run to regain a 7-4 advantage.

Reinhardt was able to further extend its lead to 12-4 in the eighth. Its five runs were scored on a hit by pitch RBI, an RBI sacrifice fly to center field, an RBI double to left, and a two-RBI single to right, respectively. This proved to be the final act as Milligan was unable to produce anything in the ninth inning.

Werker tossed four innings and gave up four runs on eight hits. Hall saw three innings of action and gave up three runs on one hit. He was also credited with the loss, and moves to 3-2 on the season.

Jacob Poe, Josh Topper, and Wade Fletcher all pitched 0.1 innings and allowed five runs on three hits, collectively.

Game 2 – Reinhardt 9, Milligan 2 (7 Innings)

Milligan was able to open scoring early on in game two, as it took a 1-0 lead after an error by the shortstop allowed Casey Haire to score.

Austin Maxey was on the mound first the Buffs. He was able to put away the first inning in three up, three down fashion.

Innings two through four saw nothing doing at the plate for either team. Milligan was only able to record a pair of hits, while Reinhardt recorded only one hit during this span.

After the Eagles were able to pick up a pair of outs in the top half of the fifth, Caleb Berry stepped to the plate and hit a home run, extending the Buffs lead to 2-0.

After walking a batter with a runner already on second and third, Reinhardt was able to load the bases with only a single out in the bottom of the sixth. This forced Milligan to make a pitching change, as it brought on Vince LaConte. The Eagles then scored nine runs to take a 9-2 lead.

The Buffs had their final chance for a comeback in the seventh, however, a swinging strikeout, a groundout to third base, and a strikeout looking ended the game.

Maxey was credited with the loss and shifts to 0-4 on the season. He pitched 5.1 innings, gave up three runs and only two hits.

Despite the loss, Milligan out hit Reinhardt 20-18 in the doubleheader. Guzman finished as the Buffs leading hitter, going 5-for-8 at the plate. Berry and Haire ended with four hits each as they both went 4-for-8.

Milligan wraps up its regular season in a matchup against Reinhardt on Saturday. Start time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.